It is hard to guess what a Tundra vole weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Tundra vole (Microtus oeconomus) on average weights 33 grams (0.07 lbs).
The Tundra vole is from the family Muridae (genus: Microtus). It is usually born with about 2 grams (0 lbs). They can live for up to 1.75 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 11.6 cm (0′ 5″). On average, Tundra voles can have babies 3 times per year with a litter size of 5.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The tundra vole (Microtus oeconomus) or root vole is a medium-sized vole found in Northern and Central Europe, Asia, and northwestern North America, including Alaska and northwestern Canada. In the western part of the Netherlands, the tundra vole is a relict from the ice age and has developed to the subspecies Microtus oeconomus arenicola.It has short ears and a short tail. Its fur is yellowish brown with paler sides and white underparts. They are about 18 cm (7.1 in) long with a 4 cm (1.6 in) tail and weigh about 50 grams (1.8 oz).This species is found in damp tundra or moist meadows, usually near water. It makes runways through the surface growth in warm weather and tunnels through the snow in winter. It feeds on grasses, sedges and seeds.Female voles have three to six litters of three to 9 young in a shallow burrow. The vole population in a given area can vary greatly from year to year.It is active year-round. It also digs burrows where it stores seeds and roots, especially licorice root, for the winter. The species epithet oeconomus refers to this “economical” behaviour.
Animals of the same family as a Tundra vole
We found other animals of the Muridae family:
- Central pebble-mound mouse with a weight of 12 grams
- Musso’s fish-eating rat with a weight of 40 grams
- Smoke-bellied rat with 4 babies per litter
- Southwestern water vole with a weight of 220 grams
- Beach vole with a size of 12.7 cm (0′ 5″)
- Turkish hamster with a weight of 198 grams
- Luzon hairy-tailed rat with a weight of 170 grams
- Zacatecan deer mouse with a weight of 27 grams
- Eurasian harvest mouse with a weight of 7 grams
- Pale leaf-eared mouse with a weight of 102 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Tundra vole
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Microtus oeconomus:
- Dark fruit-eating bat bringing 35 grams to the scale
- Fire-bellied brush-furred rat bringing 32 grams to the scale
- Somali elephant shrew bringing 32 grams to the scale
- Roraima mouse bringing 33 grams to the scale
- Olive montane mouse bringing 37 grams to the scale
- Ash-grey mouse bringing 30 grams to the scale
- Macroscelides proboscideus bringing 38 grams to the scale
- Greater false vampire bat bringing 39 grams to the scale
- African giant shrew bringing 33 grams to the scale
- Day’s grass mouse bringing 32 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a Tundra vole
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Tundra vole:
- Rusty-bellied brush-furred rat with a size of 11.8 cm (0′ 5″)
- Plains rat with a size of 12.1 cm (0′ 5″)
- Coast mole with a size of 12.3 cm (0′ 5″)
- Bank vole with a size of 10.6 cm (0′ 5″)
- Northwestern deer mouse with a size of 9.3 cm (0′ 4″)
- Mexican spiny pocket mouse with a size of 11.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- South African pouched mouse with a size of 11.7 cm (0′ 5″)
- Yellow-pine chipmunk with a size of 12 cm (0′ 5″)
- Dusky caenolestid with a size of 11.3 cm (0′ 5″)
- Yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse with a size of 12.1 cm (0′ 5″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Tundra vole
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (5) as a Tundra vole:
- Long-tailed shrew
- Montane shrew
- Woosnam’s broad-headed mouse
- Mongolian gerbil
- Fringe-tailed gerbil
- Royle’s mountain vole
- Rock dormouse
- Townsend’s vole
- Wongai ningaui
- Meadow vole
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Tundra vole
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Tundra vole:
- Cinereus shrew with an average maximal age of 1.92 years
- Wongai ningaui with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Malabar spiny dormouse with an average maximal age of 1.67 years
- Southern red-backed vole with an average maximal age of 1.67 years
- Himalayan mole with an average maximal age of 1.5 years
- Long-clawed shrew with an average maximal age of 1.5 years
- Texas mouse with an average maximal age of 1.5 years
- Delany’s mouse with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Western harvest mouse with an average maximal age of 1.5 years
- Common yellow-toothed cavy with an average maximal age of 1.75 years